Beacon of Hope: Veterans Center to Help Vets, Families Deal With PTSD, Abuse

Published: Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 4:25 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 4:25 a.m.

LAKELAND | Perry Betts joined the Navy Seabees in 1967, and served three tours of duty in South Vietnam including during the Tet Offensive of 1968, in which almost every village and city was attacked by the North Vietnamese simultaneously.

He went home to a wife and child after his service and carried on his life until stress and anger got so bad in 2007 he sought help.

Betts and his wife, Shirley, were among more than 200 people who turned out for the dedication of the new Veterans Center on Ariana Street. It will be providing help for Polk County veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and for families who have lost a loved one in combat. The center also provides help for those who have suffered sexual abuse in the military.

Betts had a successful civilian career, first in construction but mainly in sales.

"I was able to be mainly by myself in sales, to go in and see a customer, then spend a large amount of time away from people, so it didn't surface right away," he said of the stress.

"Sometime in my late 50s when I retired I found I had more time to think," said Betts, who is 64.

"I had enlisted because I wanted to serve, and I certainly got what I wanted," he said.

"I think maybe the tours affected me then, but I had a wife and two children and I didn't have time to think about it then. I had to come back home and go to work."

Betts' stress came out as anger, panic and worry, he said.

His wife supported him as he sought help from the new centers being established by Congress and Veterans Affairs.

Betts says the disorder will never go away, but he has it under control.

"This man saved my life," Betts said, putting his hand on the shoulder of William Nieves, a counselor at the center.

Nieves is a veteran who was in a forward paratroop unit landing in Panama during that police action.

"I love it," he said, "working with these guys and helping them. They have taught me a lot, and this is a fun guy to be with," he said of Betts.

The sessions are private and sometimes in groups. A crisis line is available 24 hours a day, Nieves said.

A series of Veterans Affairs personnel, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital officials and civic leaders spoke at the grand opening of the center Tuesday at 1370 Ariana St., Lakeland.

The program already has more than 300 clients. Centers to deal with PTSD are increasing throughout the nation, serving not only returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, but those from previous wars who may have locked their feelings away, staff members said.

The keynote address was delivered by Lakeland City Commissioner Don Selvage, who as a Marine Corps officer for 30 years had been a company commander in Vietnam and commanded four battalions in Desert Storm.

Stress disorder goes back to antiquity, Selvage said.

"One of the earliest known observations was made by the Greek historian Herodotus, who described an Athenian warrior struck blind ‘without blow of sword or dart' when a soldier standing next to him was killed.''

Selvage said the care given at veterans centers to those wounded "without blow of sword" is crucial and the problem of PTSD isn't likely to lighten soon.

"We are sending our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guard personnel on multiple combat tours in a war where there are no front lines. The enemy is not easily identified and danger lurks 24/7.

"The terrible costs of war do not end when the shooting stops," Selvage told the audience.

"The price of war lingers for generations and touches countless individual lives."

The Veterans Center, officially the VA's Readjustment Counseling Service, can be reached at 863-284-0841.

[ Bill Rufty can be reached at 802-7523 or bill.rufty@theledger.com. ]

<p>LAKELAND | Perry Betts joined the Navy Seabees in 1967, and served three tours of duty in South Vietnam including during the Tet Offensive of 1968, in which almost every village and city was attacked by the North Vietnamese simultaneously.</p><p>He went home to a wife and child after his service and carried on his life until stress and anger got so bad in 2007 he sought help.</p><p>Betts and his wife, Shirley, were among more than 200 people who turned out for the dedication of the new Veterans Center on Ariana Street. It will be providing help for Polk County veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and for families who have lost a loved one in combat. The center also provides help for those who have suffered sexual abuse in the military.</p><p>Betts had a successful civilian career, first in construction but mainly in sales.</p><p>"I was able to be mainly by myself in sales, to go in and see a customer, then spend a large amount of time away from people, so it didn't surface right away," he said of the stress.</p><p>"Sometime in my late 50s when I retired I found I had more time to think," said Betts, who is 64.</p><p>"I had enlisted because I wanted to serve, and I certainly got what I wanted," he said.</p><p>"I think maybe the tours affected me then, but I had a wife and two children and I didn't have time to think about it then. I had to come back home and go to work."</p><p>Betts' stress came out as anger, panic and worry, he said.</p><p>His wife supported him as he sought help from the new centers being established by Congress and Veterans Affairs.</p><p>Betts says the disorder will never go away, but he has it under control.</p><p>"This man saved my life," Betts said, putting his hand on the shoulder of William Nieves, a counselor at the center.</p><p>Nieves is a veteran who was in a forward paratroop unit landing in Panama during that police action.</p><p>"I love it," he said, "working with these guys and helping them. They have taught me a lot, and this is a fun guy to be with," he said of Betts.</p><p>The sessions are private and sometimes in groups. A crisis line is available 24 hours a day, Nieves said.</p><p>A series of Veterans Affairs personnel, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital officials and civic leaders spoke at the grand opening of the center Tuesday at 1370 Ariana St., Lakeland.</p><p>The program already has more than 300 clients. Centers to deal with PTSD are increasing throughout the nation, serving not only returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, but those from previous wars who may have locked their feelings away, staff members said.</p><p>The keynote address was delivered by Lakeland City Commissioner Don Selvage, who as a Marine Corps officer for 30 years had been a company commander in Vietnam and commanded four battalions in Desert Storm.</p><p>Stress disorder goes back to antiquity, Selvage said.</p><p>"One of the earliest known observations was made by the Greek historian Herodotus, who described an Athenian warrior struck blind 'without blow of sword or dart' when a soldier standing next to him was killed.''</p><p>Selvage said the care given at veterans centers to those wounded "without blow of sword" is crucial and the problem of PTSD isn't likely to lighten soon.</p><p>"We are sending our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guard personnel on multiple combat tours in a war where there are no front lines. The enemy is not easily identified and danger lurks 24/7.</p><p>"The terrible costs of war do not end when the shooting stops," Selvage told the audience.</p><p>"The price of war lingers for generations and touches countless individual lives."</p><p>The Veterans Center, officially the VA's Readjustment Counseling Service, can be reached at 863-284-0841.</p><p> </p><p>[ Bill Rufty can be reached at 802-7523 or bill.rufty@theledger.com. ]</p>